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BBSC 357 at 100 yards

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deano5150
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BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by deano5150 » Fri May 17, 2019 11:17 pm

I made it to the range this past Wednesday and decided to see what I could do at 50 and 100 yards with my BBSC 357. The goal was to see how accurate I could be with the rifle at longer ranges using the factory buckhorn sights. It was an experiment to see if this would be a good deer rifle. I’m 49 years old and just got my first hunting license this past season. I’m trying to decide if I want to deer hunt this fall. I set up a plain white paper plate at 50 yards and shot 2ea 5 shot strings from a rest.

That was certainly accurate enough for deer hunting.
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Then I set up at 100 yards knowing that bullet drop would be an issue. I shot 4 more 5 string groups before I ran out of time. I had to experiment with raising the rear sight with the elevator and adjusting my sight picture. At 50 yards I covered the plate with the brass bead. All good. Doing the same at 100 I was low. So I raised the rear buckhorn a notch. Then I was high. So I used a six o’clock hold and I was a little low. I think the sweet spot was to cover the bottom third of the plate. It’s hard to tell exactly what to do to get good hits. I think this calls for some more practice and experimentation. Also, I need to take notes this time so I don’t forget what I learned. :lol:
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If you look closely, at the top and bottom of the plate (almost lined up vertically) there are 2ea two hole groups. Both are circled with a black marker. I thought that was interesting. Out of the 20 shots, 2 were high and missed the cardboard completely.

All in all I think I did ok for my first time shooting at that range. My windage was pretty good but I need to figure out the elevation. That brass bead is just too big to be very precise at long range.
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BigAl52
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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by BigAl52 » Fri May 17, 2019 11:34 pm

Factory Ammo Deano or reloads?
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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by JEBar » Fri May 17, 2019 11:47 pm

the good news is, you've got a few months between now an hunting season .... I'm looking forward following your reports as you become better acquainted with your Henry
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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by Redthies » Sat May 18, 2019 5:26 am

I really love my BBSC .357, and took it deer hunting a couple of times last year. There were lots of wolves in the area though, so we didn’t see any live deer. Lots of tracks, (pics below) but aside from a solo wolf, squirrels and a rabbit, there was not much moving.

I did do some target shooting and found mine to be very accurate with 158 grain sjsp. I have Skinner’s Express rear and Patridge front sights on mine. That makes a big difference for me. I’m only one year older than you Dean, but I found the factory sights weren’t great for much.
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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by GunnyGene » Sat May 18, 2019 7:43 am

I think you're on the right track, and yes buckhorns are limited at longer ranges. I had to scope my .41 mag to get even close to acceptable performance due to my aging eyes. Buckhorns were useless for me. I don't like the aesthetics of scoping a lever gun, but ya' gotta do what ya gotta do if you're going to put meat on the table. :)

PS: Here's the difference a scope makes. This was from my scoped Win 9422m with CCI Maxi-mag @100 a few days ago from a makeshift rest. The ballistic trajectory is nearly identical to my Henry, but what we're concerned with here is group size, so it's a reasonable comparison. Prior to scoping the Winnie, my group sizes with the factory buckhorns had been deteriorating for several years, and I finally had to scope it. The 3 flyers were me not paying attention (breathing, etc.). 15 rounds, 1" bullseye.


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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by markiver54 » Sat May 18, 2019 9:46 am

Nice shooting Gunny!!
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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by RanchRoper » Sat May 18, 2019 9:49 am

Nice job. Try shooting from 1 knee with your factory sights. I have had some success with my 1860.
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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by ESquared » Sat May 18, 2019 9:59 am

The buckhorn/front bead combo is a challenge for many, it seems, and you encountered what most of us do: at anything over about 40-50 yds, that bead obscures the target so much that you can hardly guess what your true POA is.

The good news is you have lots of options to make it better, including booking a trip to Canada for a RR shooting lesson! Wish I could!
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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by GunnyGene » Sat May 18, 2019 10:15 am

markiver54 wrote:
Sat May 18, 2019 9:46 am
Nice shooting Gunny!!
Thanks. A side note: When you're trying to squeeze groups down as much as possible, setting up a video of yourself to capture things like trigger control, jerking or bucking the shots, etc. gives you the opportunity to rerun the session and critique yourself. This is a big help in honing your shooting if you don't have a coach watching you.
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markiver54
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Re: BBSC 357 at 100 yards

Post by markiver54 » Sat May 18, 2019 10:17 am

Good point...might try that!
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